Congrats! You've been randomly selected from a pool of registered voters residing in Multnomah County and now it's your turn to fulfill your civic duty for at least two days. That could mean making a difference in the judicial system and in someone's life. Knowing what to expect, and preparing accordingly, can guarantee that it won't be a boring or uncomfortable experience.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, these instructions refer to service at the downtown Portland courthouse on SW Fourth Avenue; some jurors will be asked to report to the East County Courthouse Summons on SE Stark Street, where a few things might be different.

Steps

1

Respond to the letter. With your summons came a form that you must fill out, along with a postage-paid envelope. The summons specifies your service date, which is the day you must report for jury duty. The form must be returned no later than one week before the service date on your summons.

You can use the form to defer your jury duty service date no later than one year from your original service date. Choose a date that's more convenient for you, but keep in mind you won't be able to defer again without providing good cause. You can defer to a new service date on any day of the week but Friday.

Discuss jury duty with your employer. Jury duty can last anywhere between two and thirty days. Under Oregon law, your employer can't fire you, threaten to fire you, intimidate you because your jury service responsibility. Your employer also can't make you use vacation or sick time during jury duty. They are not required to pay you while you're at jury duty; if you do get paid, though, you are required by law to waive juror pay, which is paid as follows: Days 1 and 2, $10 per day; Day 3, and beyond, $25 per day.

2

Know what to expect. You will report to the jury assembly with all the other lucky citizens (approximately 150 people) and together you will serve as the pool of jurors for trials taking place that day and the next. When a trial gets started, they will call down to the room for more jurors than they need. Those potential jurors will leave the jury assembly room and get interviewed. From that group, the final jurors are selected. If you are selected, the length of your jury duty will depend on the length of the trial. If you are not selected, you must return to the juror room to complete your 2-day service (or get selected for another trial).

It's possible that all the cases for the day will settle before starting, in which case everyone will be released.

If all the cases settle except one, everyone might get released except for a smaller pool of jurors from which the jury can be selected for the trial.

If your trial ends before your 2-day service is completed, you must return to the jury assembly room. It's possible (though not very likely) that you will be a juror for more than one trial.

3

Avoid wearing metal. The more metal there is on your clothing, the longer it'll take to go through security. The metal detector will pick up any metal on your shoes, the metal in your belt, the zipper on your jacket. You'll be asked to remove everything with metal on it before you're allowed into the court room. You'll move through security much more quickly if you don't have to take off multiple articles of clothing.

4

Bring a water bottle and snacks. While you'll be given a coffee break and a lunch break, it's nice to have something to munch on. You can also bring your own lunch to save money. In the jury waiting room, you have access to tap water which you can use to fill up your water bottle, if you wish. There are also vending machines, a microwave, and refrigerator (so feel free to bring leftovers).

There is a small coffee shop in the courthouse which also sells some food. This can be convenient if you don't want to venture out or have to go through security again.

5

Bring both electronic and non-electronic entertainment. The courthouse has free wifi, though it's a bit slow (probably not good for streaming movies or music). Outlets for charging your devices are sparse, so charge up the night before. You can use electronic devices in the jury assembly room, but if you actually get called on for the selection process and then a trial, you cannot use electronic devices there. Bring a book, but not a knitting project since your needles won't make it through security.

6

Bring your summons with you; they will scan the bar code on it to identify you immediately.

7

Dress warmly in winter or wear sunblock in summer. You might be waiting in line outside the courthouse as things often get congested at security.

8

Know how to get there. Parking isn't provided by the court, nor is it compensated for, so most people opt to use public transportation.